Pezanowski in as Trojans lax coach

HARVARD -- If it was experience Bromfield School athletic director Pam Alexander was looking for in a boys' lacrosse head coach, she certainly found it in the program's latest hire: Kevin Pezanowski.

Pezanowski, a graduate of Springfield College and Ohio State University, has 14 years of college coaching experience. Locally, he has coached at Curry College, MIT and Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, N.H.

Pezanowski served as head coach at both Lawrence Academy (one season) and Groton School for four seasons, but this will be his first taste of the Midland Wachusett league slate.

"We are definitely in the right place in terms of division," Pezanowski said. "I am optimistic we will see successes and, of course, we want to try and up the previous wins over losses from before. I am trying to reinforce with the players that there are all sorts of ways to acknowledge that we are getting better and I got some good feedback from the players and parents from what they saw."

The Trojans had its first outdoor practice Saturday morning in a jamboree with Wachusett and Northbridge at Wachusett Regional High School in Holden. The Trojans could not get the offense going against the much more physical Wachusett and Northbridge clubs, but the sky is the limit for this year's group.

Bromfield's last winning season came in 2009, when it finished 15-5 under then head coach Joe Gatto.

"There is a big learning curve involved for the players and me as well," Pezanowski said.

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"So far, everybody looks like they are enthusiastic and eager to take on things. The weather here in New England makes it a little tougher to get going. Saturday was the first time we were able to get outside on a full field. As I presented to them, coaching to me is a lot like teaching. They have to come to practice ready to learn."

Bromfield has finished toward the bottom of the Mid Wach B Division the past few seasons, but Pezanowski is optimistic about his team's chances to compete.

"To me, this is one of those divisions where we haven't had much success in terms of wins and losses in recent years," Pezanowski said. "The enthusiasm and youth program are starting to rebound. At last count, we had 42 players total between the JV and varsity. Of the JV contingency, about half are seventh- and eighth-graders. There is a big surge of players coming back into the program and making the program better."

"My approach to the game is that the players are all going to make mistakes and not to emphasize the mistakes over what we need to get better," he said. "I just want to let them know that making mistakes is okay. It can be very easy for a coach to overemphasize what is going wrong and expend a lot of energy on that. Inherently, I think athletes know when they make mistakes. For me, it's taking that breakdown and turning it into more of a positive."

Bromfield opens its season on Wednesday at home against Leominster with the site of the game depending on the condition of the Trojans' field over on Depot Road. Pezanowski has been in contact with Leominster and if Bromfield's home field is unfit to be played on, the game will be moved to Doyle Field. Face off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

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